By 
If you are one of the legions of people who have gotten or are about to get a new pet snake, then you too are in for a rewarding experience. Snakes have a lot to teach us. A well-maintained terrarium can be a work of art, many are prominently displayed in homes, as long as the snake keeper keeps some essential information in mind:
Be sure to give your snake plenty of heat; that means enough for the snake, not for you. A snake does best in warmer summer temperatures of 85 to 100 degrees F, unless cooled down for hibernation. Temperate-zone species can tolerate a 30-degree drop in temperature overnight, but tropical species rarely adapt well to such fluctuations.
· Never ever use your snake to scare someone! Many people are afraid of snakes, some pathologically. Using a snake to scare a person is irresponsible on your part, may cause injury to another person, and is traumatic for the snake.
Be sure to feed your snake a proper diet at appropriate intervals. Snakes less than 3 feet long should generally be fed prey about the size of an adult mouse once or twice a week. Larger snakes take more or larger prey at less frequent intervals. Truly large snakes may only eat once a year, but they are not beginner snakes.
· Do not handle snakes after feeding them or until they have digested their food. If a snake is handled too soon after eating, it is often likely to regurgitate food and refuse to feed for many days afterward.
· Snakes must shed their skin, but they do it much better if you don’t help them. If the snake has been fed and drunk well, it will grow, and the snake will carefully break the old skin and shed it in one piece. If a snake sheds in patches, it may be dehydrated or have a nutritional disorder.
· Do your homework! Buying a snake is not the same as knowing how to care for it properly. It is your responsibility to learn about your snake and the special needs it will have in captivity. For example, unless you carefully teach your snake otherwise, many have specialized diets: garter snakes eat fish and frogs, hognose snakes eat toads, and corn snakes eat small rodents and eggs.
· Get a snake vet lined up now. Snakes have a slower metabolism than us mammals, so they can manifest symptoms long after contracting a disease. Waiting to find a qualified vet until the snake is sick may be too late.
Clean the snake’s cage as it gets dirty, don’t just wait until Saturday morning. Only use disinfectants that are appropriate for a snake cage. You can use isopropyl alcohol, soap, and special products available at your pet store. Do not use chlorine bleach or industrial cleaners like Ajax or Comet, as their residues are often toxic to snakes. Lysol is particularly dangerous.
Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling your snake or cage accessories. Snakes, like most animals, can harbor dangerous bacteria like Salmonella.
Good, now go see your snake and have fun!